In 1869, mineworkers gathered in Hazleton, PA and put their grievances in writing - condemning company stores, withheld wages, and employer control over daily life. Their resolutions, printed by a labor newspaper in Philly, reveal how tightly coal companies gripped both work and survival. Read the full story.
This 1860s photograph captures mining operations at Bear Gap, where men, mules, and machines pulled anthracite from deep underground. It’ offers a look at how coal shaped daily life in Wiconisco Township during the Civil War era. Read the full story.
A bleak winter street in Lattimer, Pennsylvania hides a violent truth. This 1898 illustration captures a Coal Region patch town just months after immigrant mineworkers were killed there for demanding fair treatment. Read the Full Story.
From Bear Gap to the Mahanoy Valley, Peter W. Sheafer's mining surveys shaped where mines were sunk and towns were built. Read the Full Story.
Major Joseph Anthony, an Irish immigrant and revered Civil War veteran, survived grievous wounds at Chancellorsville only to succumb to their effects in 1885. After the war, he helped shape anthracite mining in Williamstown, Pennsylvania, earning lasting admiration for his bravery and leadership. Read the full story and a moving obituary for this Civil War veteran.
In 1877, a mine fire in Lykens, PA did more than just rage out of control underground. It threw 800 men out of work, left families destitute, and occurred amid one of the most explosive years in American labor history. This new video explores the human cost of disaster in the Coal Region. Watch the Video.
In the late 1920s, coal companies promised modernization. Instead, centralized breakers closed collieries and hollowed out towns like Mahanoy City and Shamokin. Jobs vanished and communities unraveled. In my latest article, I trace that collapse and ask what it warns us about warehouses, automation, and data centers today. Read the Full Story.
In 1902, journalist Lincoln Steffens profiled John Mitchell, the quiet, disciplined leader of the United Mine Workers of America, during the Great Coal Strike. Mitchell rejected demagoguery, insisting labor’s power rested on contracts, restraint, and honor - an approach that reshaped union leadership in the Coal Region and beyond. Read the full story.
On New Year’s Day 1877, fire erupted deep inside the Short Mountain Colliery and would not be easily contained. It burned for months, idled hundreds of miners, and shook the communities of Lykens and Wiconisco during a national depression. This new video traces the disaster and its aftermath. Watch the video.
In this video interview, I talk with historian Mitch Troutman about The Bootleg Coal Rebellion - the story of Pennsylvania miners who refused to starve when the industry collapsed. We explore survival, dignity, and resistance in the Coal Region, and why this history still matters today. Watch the Video.